The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-06-08
Agricultural.
Contagious PleurO- Pneumonia.

Bulletin No. 10 for May of the Mis-
souri, Agricultural College is the report
of DIR. Paul Paquin, the state veterina-
rian, on the above disease. We see
that some papers in Vermont are
trying to ridicule the action lately
taken in the state towards this disease,
and characterize it as scare gotten
up by interested parties for personal
ends. We are of the opinion that can
did-thinking farmers will, after read
ing such portions of DR.. Paquin's re-
port as we are able to give, think it
wise to err on the safe side and secure
our state from the scourge of this
dreaded disease. The doctor defines it
as disease of specific nature, highly
contagious in character, especially as
regards cattle. He says:
1t is most insidious-no signs of illness
being detected, as rule for period of from
two weeks to two months, and sometimes
even four months or more, and during
which time the lungs are slowly undergoing
changes due to a progressive Inflammation
which manifests itself mainly by a slow
fever The disease was introduced into Hol-
land by Prussian COW in 1885, into Ireland
by Dutch COW in 1889, into England by Irish
and Dutch cattle in 1912, into Sweden and
Denmark by English cattle in 1917, into
Norway by infected Ayrshres in 1860,
into Oldenburg also by Ayrshires in 1858,
into Schleswig again by Ayrshres in 1859,
into the Cape of Good Hope in 1854, into
Australia in 1858 by an English cow. In
this country it appeared for the first time at
Brooklyn, l.. l., in the year 1913, and was
brought there by a Dutch COW, and in 1850 it
was introduced there again by an English
COW. In 1S47 it invaded New Jersey by
English stock and in 1859 it infected
Massachusetts, by Dutch cattle. In a
word the plague has existed in this country
over forty years, Notwithstanding all the
efforts to extirpate it, New York, Penn
sylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Della
ware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky
and Ohio were all visited, and not long ago
it appeared in Illinois, whence, we are told,
it reached Missouri by bull bought in July,
1884, by the state lunatic asylum from
Messrs, Trip Brothers.
After giving the history of its intro
duction into Missouri and its treat
ment there, where the citizens raised
$4,000 by subscription to fight the dis
ease, the doctor gives some figures
showing its disastrous effects:
We will give a few facts and figures to
show the terrible losses caused by pleuro-
pneumonia. In Massachusetts it took from
the year 1860 to 1866 to exterminate the
plague. committee legally appointed
worked hard all that time and spent S67,-
511.07 appropriated by the state and $4,000
raised by private subscriptions, or a total of
$77,511.07 Australia lost S44 ,0O0, 0O0-all by
one cow that was supposed to have recovered
but which, nevertheless, spread the disease
In the north of France it killed in nineteen
years 212,S00 cattle, worth 100000 francs
Tor $40, 400, 00O). Between 1912 and 1869 En-
gland lost, it is estimated, 5,5iS7S0 head of
cattle, worth $780, 900. During the fol-
lowing nine years she lost about 81 600 900
more. Now besides the deaths, if we count
the contingent expenses of deterioration
of health, loss of markets, progeny, manure,
ETC." (LiCe Stock Journal, 1879, and the dis
turbed condition of trade through quaran-
tines and disinfection, we may estimate
that the actual losses caused directly by the
disease amounts to enormous sums every
wear.